The department of Vaucluse is land-locked. For many people, this is where the real heart of Provence beats. A Provence carved out of the mountains (Mont Ventoux, 1,912 meters , the Dentelles de Montmirail, the Monts de Vaucluse and the Montagne de Luberon), with its vast, wild plains and green, rolling hills on which illustrious vineyards prosper. Four villages located in the region of Haut Vaucluse are actually enclaved in the department of the Drôme, a unique occurrence in France . They form the enclave of the Popes above Vaison la Romaine, next to Bollène. The Southern half ot the Vaucluse is the setting for the famous Luberon country, which stretches from Cavaillon to Pertuis, along the Durance river, and from Rustrel to Grambois along the Alps of Haute Provence. All the villages in this region are ancient, charming, and mostly nested on the rocky Luberon chain in lush natural surroundings.

It is a land of castles, of high-perched villages and steep, blunt landscapes. The Luberon is a much sought-after abode, appreciated and celebrated. It is a land drenched in sunlight, dotted with countless prestigious and historical sites awaiting your visit. Preceding Peter Mayle and his best-seller "A year in Provence", numerous personalities and VIP's own secondary residences there : in villages like Ménerbes, which, over the years have become top tourist attractions drawing an international crowd attracted by the fine vistas and buildings, old buildings and provençal gastronomy. But the Luberon is above all a preserved nature site, with vast forests, glowing ochre cliffs and a Nature Reserve home to 67 villages straddling the » countryside between the Luberon and the Alps of Haute Provence.